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Repetto tan ballet flats from local boutique Domain Shoes and Accessories. Did I mention I can wear my orthotics with them? Winner. Although, okay, I admit I do need to invest in some double sided tape just to hold the orthotics down a bit better. But at least I kind of have another pair of shoes to wear orthotics with.

Rory Beca lace running shorts from Shopbop. So comfy, so good for kicking around the house. And they’re a bit chic too. Oh, and they were $30. Love it.

Forever New white and black button up dress. I bought this for an upcoming 21st with the theme ‘white formal’. Obviously I could have gone with something more formal, like a gown, but with the right hair and makeup I think this will work. Plus the party is in a club and I’m not risking a drink spill on something ball gown-ish.

So chunky ankle booties are everywhere at the moment and my god are they cute. You may remember from a few posts ago my lovely Tony Bianco Devon ankle booties; well Rag & Bone has that similar chunky boot in at the moment and they are simply divine. You can find them on Madison Los Angeles online at the moment.

But if these are a bit out of your price range then keep an eye out because Tony Bianco and Rag & Bone aren’t the only people producing these hot little numbers with the likes of Shakuhachi, Rachel Comey, H by Hudson, Topshop Witchery also getting in on the action.

So today was technically day one of a girls trip to Brisbane for a 21st. Of course, we’ve had a bit of a shop already and found some decent bargains.
Such as a cute pair of London Rebel red peep toe pumps for $50. Fairly comfortable too considering I wore the clubbing that night and only got a small blister.

I also discovered Tree Of Life has cute silver jewellery and I bought myself a nice bow bracelet to match my Tiffany & Co R necklace and silver ring from my b’days.

Tomorrow will be another day of shopping – saw a super cute playsuit and some nice messenger bags – I’m super excited!

Hello super sexy stilettos! Where have you been all my life? You’ve gotta love Tony Bianco for the many, many amazing heels he comes out with. Plus with so many wedges and chunky heels around these days, a nice simple stiletto is what is potentially missing in many girl’s wardrobes right now. I love the colours the Karissa stiletto comes in.The Teal Snake colour is probably my favourite, but as usual I love the black too. How fabulous would these look with a pair of super skinny jeans and a leather jacket?

Tony Bianco Karissa stiletto in Teal Snake

The only thing holding me back from clicking add to bag is the fact they have an 11cm heel, which is really pushing the boundaries on what my bad feet and knees can handle and what I can walk in without looking like an 8 year-old in their mother’s shoes. So if you are slightly more competent at walking in ridiculously high 11cm heels with no platform then I urge you to click on the picture and shop away while I stare at you in jealousy!

If you’ve ever seen a pair of orthotics, or had to wear them, you’ll know it’s not very easy to find shoes to wear them in. Well, okay, it is easy; but most orthotic-friendly shoes are bloody ugly. Below is the beginning of my feet dilemma and the search for attractive, orthotic friendly shoes.

I have a massive dilemma on my hands. Recently I took a trip to the podiatrist to evaluate my pronated feet. On my first trip, she informed me the pronation was fairly bad and the little tests I had to do, like standing on one foot, rising up onto the ball of my foot and balancing there as long as possible, should have been a lot more difficult considering my feet.

At the time I discovered the source of my knee pain was entirely from giving up ballet. With feet as bad as mine, 15 years of ballet had given me very strong muscles in my legs which she attributed to the fact that my body had to work 3-5 times harder than the average dancer in order to keep up with the move my peers were going. So once I stopped doing ballet, even though I continued with contemporary, I started losing some of the muscles specifically around my knee and the pain started thanks to my bad feet. The silver lining: now I don’t feel so bad about all those years I was told I’d never be a professional dancers – there was no way my body would ever let me.

On my 4th visit to the podiatrist, she analysed the results of a walking test I had done. The test involved attaching sensors to the bottom of my feet and making me walk about the centre barefoot and then in shoes with my orthotics in them. I was informed that my feet are so bad they’re practically off the scale. I can’t really explain the technical issues, but basically she explained it like the average pressure on each foot when someone walks is about a 3 (I thought she said kilos but I’m not sure about that). Fairly bad is a 6, quite bad a 9, seriously bad is a 12 and I’m sort of chronic around an 18 to 19 (so basically, 6 times worse than the average).

Needless to say, my podiatrist was super concerned. She said she could turn a blind eye to me not wearing orthotics less than 25% of the time because she understood I’m a young, 156cm tall (5’1″), fashion obsessed girl whose going to need some leeway, but did try to drive home the point however, that in 5 years time if I don’t wear my custom orthotics enough I end up a candidate for re-corrective surgery. So now begins my dilemma. While I’m getting a custom pair of half-orthotics made (just the arch support and no toe area), the problem is finding shoes to put them in. As someone who wants to end up working in fashion or in broadcast journalism, attractive shoes with height is kind of an issue. In fashion they have to be attractive and in broadcast I’ll probably need the height otherwise interviewees look like they’re staring at the ground (as my boyfriend’s mother so kindly put it one day).

If you’re reading this and you’re in your 20s or 30s (or in my case very early 20s) and you’ve never had to deal with orthotics you may not realise how damn ugly the shoes are. Honestly, most orthotic friendly shoes are made for women in their 60s+ when they’re starting to have trouble walking anyways and just need something comfy. Nothing remotely attractive for us young ones with genetically bad feet. How unfair.

Most sandals are out of the question when you bring in orthotics. I’m going to buy some strappy flat sandals with a decent closed heel and see if a bit of hollywood tape will hold them in nicely; but as a general rule, closed shoes are your best option for orthotics. Now many people say you need something with an ankle strap because you’ll walk out of a ballet flat when you bring orthotics into the equation – I plan to prove this wrong, somehow. I feel loafers could work because often the toe area is a lot higher than ballet flats. Vans work fine but in North Queensland your feet start to sweat something chronic and it doesn’t help if you can’t keep low-cut socks on your feet. Besides, what girly girl wants to get stuck in Vans forever? Birkenstocks have the generic orthotic but sometimes aren’t that attractive and I feel like I start walking funny in them. Boots are another option. Again, like Vans, feet + heat + humidity = gross. I’m also allowed to wear a heel up to 3cm, but let’s be honest, I’m so short that’s not going to help very much. I also know some people put orthotics in high heels but it really doesn’t give you any benefit, so you might as well just buy the right size heel and go without the orthotic. So while I may have luck finding ballet flats or loafers to wear orthotics with, my mission is to find orthotic friendly sandals.

I’ll keep you all updated on what happens; at this point I’m probably going to buy a pair of sandals with a closed heel and hollywood tape it up in the name of research. For now, I’m trying to wear Vans as often as I can, but I’m really a sandal girl at heart and I am determined to find something that works. Also if any shoe companies are reading this, I will happily help you design orthotic friendly shoes that are ACTUALLY attractive. And no, whatever shoe currently on the market that you’re thinking of, probably doesn’t count.

Well it’s exactly one month until Christmas and my family and I have started dropping hints about what gifts we want for Christmas. We’re one of those families who rarely surprise each other and instead get each other the things we’ve been lusting after for ages but haven’t gotten ourselves. What’s on your Christmas wish list this year? Perhaps a holiday, a lovely candle set, or maybe some perfume. Let me know what you’re wishing for by commenting on this post!